“Not a drop of remorse”: Phanar hierarch calls autocephaly of OCU “the right step”

Metropolitan Emmanuel (Adamakis) of Chalcedon, a hierarch of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, called the Phanar’s decision to create the OCU and grant it a Tomos of autocephaly correct. He is convinced that the Patriarchate of Constantinople has the right to grant autocephaly where it deems necessary, since it is the “mother church” for most of the Local Churches of the world. The hierarch’s statement is published by Romfea.gr.

“I believe that the decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2019, following the unification council in Kyiv in 2018, to grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian Church was correct and consistent with the practice of granting autocephaly to other Orthodox Churches, including the Moscow Patriarchate. As the Mother Church, the Patriarchate did the right thing, and we really believe that this step was justified,” – Metropolitan Emmanuel said.

At the same time, the Phanar hierarch hinted that the interfaith conflict that flared up in Ukraine after the decision of the Patriarch of Constantinople is temporary and will completely subside after the war. He suggested waiting to see the positive results of the creation of the OCU.

“Now, if anyone expected miracles to happen in these few years, I must point out that this is not the case. It takes time, maturity, and patience. In a country that has been living in a state of war in recent years after the Russian invasion, it is difficult to take measures that would help bring this matter to a close. We must show patience and understanding. Certainly, better days await Ukraine after the end of the war,” – he added.

Recall that the head of the non-canonical so-called Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, Sviatoslav Login, said that Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople promised to grant autocephaly to the structure he heads. Login allegedly discussed this with Bartholomew a year and a half ago during their meeting in Phanar.